There are many of us who enjoy the thrill of mountain biking. I for one love both the climb and the decent. The dangers of mountain biking are far different than cycling on the road. While you will likely not encounter any vehicle traffic (perhaps the rare encounter with a hunter, or off road enthusiast is probable) you may very well encounter very tricky and dangerous terrain. Everything from tree limbs, rocks, large gaps in the trail/roads, gorges, shrubs, and more. Each posing unique problems to the mountain biker. However, there is a distinct chance of encountering wildlife while mountain biking. This can be exhilarating and dangerous.

The video below is a go pro video of a man mountain biking while being chased by a bear. There are many of these video clips on the internet. This one in particular shows up quite a bit.

As you might have guessed, this video clip may or may not be real. Many commentators have mentioned how fake it is. I for one tend to believe that it is not real or the cyclist would be breathing much heavier and likely screaming a bit, or yelling a bit, or even swearing a bit. The mountain biker instead bikes on in silence. Whether its real or not, the point is you can certainly encounter wildlife out on the trails and you ought to be prepared and safe. There are other very real videos of bear encounters and mountain bikers that you can search on YouTube.

Mountain Biking can be dangerous and mountain  bike accidents can be deadly. Because there are likely no at fault parties in mountain biking accidents it is highly recommended that cyclists who mountain bike procure cycling insurance to cover their damages to both bike and body sustained in a mountain bike accident. This insurance is cheap and can be found from several companies on the internet. To name a few, Velo Insurance and Big Ring Insurance both sell insurance policies for approximately $200/year. The coverage isn’t very high, but at least your medical bills and your bike will likely be covered.